Mark:  The comp'd Colt custom you sent me arrived today.  After starting with 300 rounds of 'range fodder', followed by some extremely hot defense loads, and some of my own target handloads, for a total of about 500 rounds, I am writing to tell you that the gun performed as I have come to expect from something that you have crafted -- absolutely perfectly.  As always, flawless feed and function combined with pin point precision resulting in one tight group downrange.  The gun worked not only with a variety of loads, but with a variety of Wilson, McCormick, and old Colt mags.  The comp took a lot of the muzzle flip out of all of the loads, and made a fast series of very hot defense loads into a very controlled sequence with the results apparent in the grouping.  Accuracy matched my last gun from you,  again superb.

In addition to perfect function, the gun is a pleasure to simply pick up and cyle.  The finish, function and blending of unique "Morris" touches are again what I have come to expect from your guns, a true work of art but with the artistic touches  not intruding in any manner on function.

Simply pulling back the slide and letting it go forward is a treat for the hands and the ears as it moves precisely up and back, and locks up with a soft but firm click.  The finish is smooth and perfectly applied, with your choice of color and contrasting highlights on the slide and choice of grips taking it out 'ordinary' 1911 catagorey and moving it into functional art.  The light engraving along the top of the gun -- which I was not sure I would like when you first described it to me -- turned out to be the correct finishing touch, enhancing and adding to the unique identity of this gun without overwhelming its functional appearance.  Mark, it is indeed a pleasure to own one of your guns. 

Dave Novoselsky

I just finished putting 300 rounds through the gun I received from you.  My first reaction when I opened the gun rug was, nice, nicely made, very nice, no obvious 'bells and whistles."  Upon racking back the slide, my impression was tight, not stupidly-so and very precise.  Nice feel. Down to the range, load up both mags, touch the slide stop, and smile, nice, nice feel.  Pull the trigger, repeat 299 more times, and decide, what a smooth, reliable, accurate, marvelous piece of work.
Mark, perhaps the motto should be "Artistry that Functions, and Functions Flawlessly, without Fuss, With Unnecessary Fads, and with Beauty."
My compliments to you on a superb product.  One I can count on a as a 'primary carry' or take to the range to 'plink' or simply admire.

Thanks

Dave Novoselsky

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald Russell"

To: <markmorris@morriscustompistols.com>

Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 11:34 AM

Subject: MY PISTOL

I just got THE PISTOL !  I am to electrified to do more than send you this immediately to tell you how exceptional it is. I have a couple of nice 1911's from Heinie and Nastoff and they don't begin to approach this one. Too excited to write more since I have to salivate over this work of art. This is so special I'm going to your web site to check on other guns you have in progress.

THANKS,

Don

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Mark,

For some time I've wanted to write and express my appreciation of your work and have been trying to find the words to adequately convey my pleasure and awe at your level of artistry and craftsmanship as well as the all too uncommon experience of dealing with someone possessed of so pronounced a sense of integrity and responsibility.

I've been fortunate enough to own pistols from a number of the recognized masters in creating 1911's, and I can say emphatically that yours is my all-time favorite- combining impeccable craftsmanship, utter reliability, and stunning accuracy.

Thanks for your friendship.

Best wishes,

  - Don Russell

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I am the Chief of Police of a small rural city in south-central Minnesota.    The department is comprised of one full time police office and myself.   With few exceptions, I am either on duty or on call 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.  When the locals need the police, they frequently bypass the county dispatch center and show up unannounced at my residence with some huge problem.   In addition, due to the rural nature of our county, backup is frequently far away or sometimes simply not available.

In light of these circumstances, I find it prudent to carry a gun just about all of the time and just about everywhere I go.   I do this in order to deal with unexpected emergencies as they may arise.

I have owned and carried a variety of service pistols and I have found that they each have their good points and their bad points. However, I have never been 100% satisfied with any of them.  As a long time fan of the 1911 platform, I began to take a serious look at the 1911 as the ultimate service pistol.

My search for a top 1911 gunsmith led me to Mark Morris.  After one lengthy telephone conversation with Morris, I was adequately impressed to place an order for one of his Morris Tactical .45's built on a Colt 1991 base gun.

When the Morris Tactical arrived, I immediately put a couple of hundred break-in rounds through it; field stripped it, cleaned it, and oiled it.  I then started to shoot it at speed, from duty leather, from concealed leather, strong hand only, weak hand only, prone, kneeling and on the move.

What I quickly found out was that I could shoot the Morris Tactical .45 faster and more accurately than any other pistol that I had ever owned.  And, very importantly, the gun has never jammed, hic-upped, bobbled, stove-piped or otherwise let me down.  It will feed any type of .45 ACP ammo that I stuff into the magazine, including empty cases, which it feeds flawlessly.  It shoots way better than I can and it arrived perfectly regulated for 230 Federal Hydra-Shok, which I had specified to Morris when I ordered the gun.

I now carry the Morris Tactical with me virtually always, both on duty and off duty.   It resides either in a Safariland 070, a Mitch Rosen Uncle Sal's Decision or a Skunkworks Kydex belt scabbard, depending on the circumstances.  The more I shoot and carry the gun, the more I am impressed with it, and the more confidence I have in it.   And confidence is absolutely critical in this business.

It is also an exceptionally good-looking gun.  The Morris Tactical is so well built and so beautifully finished that I hesitated for just a second or two the first time I walked out of the house with it in my duty holster.  It would surely get banged around and scuffed up eventually, prospects that I was not looking forward to. Then I realized that it was nothing less than my neck on the line, so I might as well carry the very best, and the Morris Tactical is the very best.

Make no mistake, when it comes to surviving a gunfight, there is absolutely no substitute for having the proper mindset along with getting some professional shooting instruction accompanied by lots of trigger time. However, assuming an equal amount of training, the gun carrying professional might as well take the advantage offered by a truly exceptional 1911.  And the Morris Tactical is a truly exceptional 1911.

           - Greg Gowan
             Chief of Police

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Mark Morris

65 West Lake Road

Oroville, WA 98844

Saturday, June 29, 2002

Avid Shooters,

The exceptional quality of "Morris Custom Pistols" is astounding. Mark puts immense attention to detail into every pistol he customizes. Morris Pistols possess the trademark of reliability, fit, finish and function; each has an impressive appearance of distinction. The craftsmanship that goes into his work is that of an old world artisan. His pistol-smith art form is difficult to find in today’s world of mass production.

My lifetime has been steeped in a rich firearms experience. My entire adult and professional life has been dependent upon firearms. I am a six year veteran of the U. S. Marine Corps, a fifteen year veteran law enforcement officer, firearms instructor, firearms specialist / armorer, an avid hunter and a firearms collector. Over the years while collecting, I have developed a penchant for fine European bolt and double guns and of course side arms.

I currently own three "Morris Custom Pistols". These firearms are highly prized among my collection and are relied upon for service with great confidence.

If you regard personal defense, competitive / recreational shooting or depend upon firearms for your livelihood as being paramount, you should consider going premium. Once you have abandoned "out of the box" productions for a "Morris Custom Pistol", you would find it hurtful relying upon anything else.

Good shooting!

P. M. Percival

Spokane, WA

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